About Me

Showing posts with label Job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Job. Show all posts

Monday, March 9, 2020

The Spring has sprung!

Ankara is situated inland in the middle of Turkey and is generally colder than the coastal cities. It was still pretty cold when I came back home to Istanbul. However, this week all of a sudden, I feel the warmth in the weather. Yesterday, I realized that the trees were in full bloom and the tulip season is almost here.

I no longer need warmer jackets and can go out with a vest and a hoodie. Sometimes even the vest is too warm. Wow!

Today is a nice, bright and sunny day 19-21 degrees celsius (60s in Fahrenheit).  Ankara is just a little colder today so, it should be a very nice day there as well.

I am working from home on my "new" part time gig. On Wednesday, I have an engagement at my other part time job. I purchased a couple of masks to use on the plane on Wednesday. We have no reported cases of the corona virus yet but, I have a feeling that, the information is not shared with the public. Yeah, I know, totally dumb. I am washing my hands more frequently and using wipes and sanitizers when I am out and about.

As I type this, I am sitting at my small computer desk with an open window right next to me.

I gotta go back to work. Wishing everybody a nice week in good health.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Scattered Thoughts - Need to pick your brains

If you have read my previous post, this is about it. Ever since my friend asked for my help, there have been things bothering me at the background of my mind. So, I have decided to put them down here and see what my friends in the blogosphere has to say.

First, let me share some historical info:

There are 5 ex-employees of mine working for this particular company. I cannot say I liked them much and in fact, I was relieved when they left my former company on their own. They were making the environment toxic and affecting the others in a negative manner.

Guy 1: The head of the professional services team - He should be able to do what needs to be done in terms of my friend's needs, except that he is lazy. He always has a reason why he cannot do a certain thing. (all those things he could not do, could be done by others).

Guy 2: I actually liked his attitude, appreciated his knowledge and work and sent him to an event in the US, a rare perk of the job. I was hoping he would mentor the new recruits afterwards but, he resigned a week after the trip just because, he was offered a 5% better salary. I was willing to counter-offer but my ex-boss refused it. All that time he was getting ready to go to the US, he knew that he would resign. In my book that is not acceptable. He should have bowed out gracefully and let another colleague go.

Guy 3: Lazy, always complains, never in a good mood.

Guy 4: Lazy, never learns from mistakes. He is supposed to produce marketing material but he never ran a spell check despite being told several times. Always produces inferior quality work that needs to be touched up by someone else.

Gal 1: Did not have much interaction with her since she left shortly after I joined the former company. For all I know, she was known to be rude to the customers. She made an effort to come back but, my former boss did not accept her.

The owner of this company tried to recruit others from our team in the past but, they did not go since they loved my ex-boss and got along well with me as second in command. So, he recruited the bad apples in a way. However, since he did not let anyone go, they must have been working OK I guess. The owner seems satisfied. My ex-boss on the other hand, never liked any of them and when they wanted to leave, he did not move a finger not to lose any of them.

You may be thinking 5 people can not be all bad and there must be something wrong with me too. I am a bit of a perfectionist and even though I know, not everybody can be great, I like to see genuine effort. Not everybody can be an excellent worker but, they should at least try.

I do not think, I want to have anything to do with the above people anymore. I would never hire them, if I were the boss.

So, all the above had been bothering me in the background. My friend needs my support, has joined this company about 5 months ago. She is an excellent salesperson. On financial issues, she can be a pain in the butt, however, overall she is a nice person.

May be I should tell my friend all about this and leave it at that. If there is a way around working as a consultant without having to deal with these people directly, I may consider it.

What do you think?


Thursday, January 31, 2019

Second Income

Today I have handed my Expense Report and Time Sheet for my first pay. Felt good although, I have put in only a little over 5 days in January.

I think, working 2-3 days a week is fine. No more than that. I do enjoy my freedom. I know, sometimes there will be more work to be done but, I do not want to have more than two projects at a time.

Now, I am waiting for the pay day. I have no idea how long it takes their outsource partner to process the forms. I guess we will find out.

Mom is going back home next Friday. Actually, I am taking her. My uncle is in Ankara and he will stay there for a while. He is doing two favors for me. Taking care of the title transfer of the family home and taking care of mom for a while. I love my mom to the moon and back but I also enjoy my solitude. Having lived alone for so many years, I need time for myself. It is difficult to explain perhaps, but that is what it is.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I will get a blood test early in the morning, then I will take mom for a haircut. After that I will go have lunch with my ex-boss and our old office assistant. I may meet some High School buddies afterwards.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

New Life

After my loong vacation, I am now home with mom. The weather is pretty bad and we spend most of our days at home. This means saving money.

I haven't yet purchased gas for the car this month. Tomorrow, I will fill up and I am sure that will last us till the end of December.

We do grocery shopping and that is pretty much it. We ordered food only twice this month. Except for a garlic press I needed, I did not buy anything else. We cook from scratch and keep the food healthy. Lots of salads, soups and fish is eaten these days.

Tomorrow, we will be going grocery shopping. We tend to grocery shop once a week and we never go shopping hungry.

I like being home and do not miss work at all. It would be nice to get a project here and there but, I am not in a rush. I will start building the contract management training I had been planning for a long time and I gave myself a deadline to finish it by the end of December.

Having mom at home is sometimes a bit difficult since, she likes to do everything together. I need some place else to work.


Monday, August 6, 2018

Last 10 work days...

After attending the funeral on Friday, a friend of ours invited some of us over to her office at a university where she serves as the dean of Architecture Department. 3 of us went with her and talked a little, cried a little. It was a sad day but seeing so many people attending the funeral made us proud of our friend once again. Hope, he rests in peace.

Life goes on. This Wednesday they are throwing a barbecue party at work for my retirement. 

I have ten work days left to go. This weekend I am taking mom home. My uncle will come and stay with her and possibly take her to Antalya with him till I go get her in October. We shall also celebrate my mom's and uncle's birthdays during the weekend. 

Next Monday, I shall introduce my replacement to our Ankara Office staff.

There are few things left to be handed over and then, they will be on their own. The GM says he will be probably calling me everyday and I told him, his will be probably the first number I shall block. Hahaha! I like bantering with people.

I am ready to leave and start a new chapter in life. My friend's passing reminded many of us the important things in life. 

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Cleaning out my desk at work

Before the company changed hands, I had cleaned out my work area and carried some stuff home. Couple of weeks ago, I did another round, getting rid of junk. I now have only a few things that I will need to take home. My replacement will have to share my work area for four weeks while I walk her through what she has to do.

I cleaned out my desk completely today. I will just take my fountain pen, my notebook, and my laptop when I finally walk out this place.

They will be leaving this current office by the end of August, moving to a plaza. This place is very nice with a large garden, fruit trees and picnic tables but, it has many infrastructure problems too. Also, it will not be sufficient for more people to be hired.

It will be the end of an era completely by then.

When my replacement starts working, I will cut down on the time I spend at work gradually so, she can be more comfortable.

I will also take her to meet the team in Ankara early August. The plan is, to take my mom back to her home to Ankara on the 11th, do her shopping. Most likely my uncle will come to Ankara to spend time with mom while I am away. Then he will drive her to Antalya where he spends most of his time. On Monday the 13th my replacement will fly to Ankara in the morning, meet me and the team at the office and later in the afternoon I will drive us back.

That will be my last week. I am getting pretty excited and finding it really weird because I am usually very cool. When I was being sent to the US for the first time at the ripe age of 22, to live on my own for the first time, to go abroad for the first time, to be on a plane for the first time, I did not feel any excitement whatsoever. I was cool as a cucumber. It must be about aging.


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Peace...

Today I came to work and the GM asked me to implement a new procedure. Normally, I would tell him all the possible negative side effects of implementing such a procedure but, I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. Wrote an e-mail to the staff and started the procedure.

Up until now, I have shared my experience several times but, he mostly did not take my advice. I have done what I have done for 30 years and have come accross the same issues at several different companies. I have been wrong. I have made mistakes. I have learnt the proper way of doing things and I have accumulated all this experience. I pay attention to minute details and think ahead. I never take decisions on a whim because I now know better.

I offered experience, they prefer learning the hard way, so be it.

For the first time in a long while, I am feeling peaceful and am in a mood to let go. Today I had someone calculate my normal severance if I had been let go so, I have that information to asses the offer they will put on the table.

I will also ask to keep my laptop and my health insurance policy which has been just renewed till next renewal time.

As I asses the situation for doing part-time work for them, I have some doubts such as the following:

-  The person who will replace me might be uncomfortable.
-  The people who worked for me all this time may keep on coming to me creatig mistrust on the newcomer's part. I want the new person to understand and appreciate what used to be "my people" and establish a good working relationship. So, I should not be the obstacle
-  The tasks they will want me to do may not be all that interesting to me.

So, I have decided to give them a daily rate and take it from there. I do not want to commit to much else.

I just need to keep myself motivated till the end so that I can set a good example for the people who work for me.

This is most probably my last full-time job and I am glad I accepted the offer of my ex-boss and worked with him. I met really nice young people and this has become the 3rd longest job I ever had.

Feeling truly peaceful...






Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Winds of Change

As you know I was back to work yesterday and the new GM wanted to talk to me. Apparently, they have found someone to replace me who will be able to start work in August. They want me to continue till my vacation in August and then, want me to move to a different part-time role.

I was surprised that I wasn't surprised at all. Actually this can be a blessing if the stars align properly. I told him that, this is quiet acceptable on my end as long as he offers a meaningful package to go with it. He is going to work on it.

We will see how that will go. So, wish me luck please!

Monday, June 18, 2018

Back to Work

I am back to work. The day started with a meeting and will end with another one. In between, I will try to play catch up.

People were genuinely happy to see me and inquired after my health. That felt good.

I am going to start a new project at work. Today, I will discuss the specifics about it with the Management Team today and make sure they understand how much of their active contribution will be required. Next week, I will introduce them to the Project Team. The project is supposed to last until December.

I am constatntly looking at my projection and contemplating whether I should leave earlier than March 2019. I just cannot justify it financially. I keep saying to myself: Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue...

It is only 255 calendar days. I have another vacation. There are mny weekends. So, how bad can it be?



Wednesday, January 24, 2018

A Target is Achieved!

Many months ago, I sat down to figure out my target retirement savings. Since, life can go many ways, I had settled on setting more than one target which I named, Minimum, Good, Better, Best and Utopia.

I am happy to report that my minimum target is achieved as of this month. (Actually, I reached it a couple of months back but, then something happened and I had to gift a good chunk of money to a family member)

What does reaching the Minimum mean? Well, if for some reason, I walk out with no option whatsoever to work anymore, I can pay the debt I have taken over from a family member and have a modest retirement. I can only take one modest vacation in country per year and drive a small, second hand car. It is not a great option by any means.

According to my projection, my next target can be achieved by the end of this year and the next target, by the end of next year. So, patience is key here but, for some reason I am feeling very uneasy.

I should make myself stop thinking about retirement constantly. I am only 51. It is even possible to reach the target I named Utopia which is projected to happen at the end of 2022 when I will be just  55.

Patience is no virtue of mine but, 4 more years to work is not so bad. Is it? I must find a way to not think about retirement or leaving anytime soon. Makes no financial sense and as logical as I am, I should actually be targeting 2022.

I think, my life's been a bit boring lately so, I just need to figure out something fun instead of counting down till an illogical time.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

New Budget

Now that I know my new salary, I can work on my new budget.

The theme of this year is "Save! Save! Save!"

I do not know if I will like to work with the new folks so, while I can earn a good deal of money, the logical thing is to stash it.

This year;
- My planned vacations will be kept modest.

- I will not be making any major purchases for my home with the exception of fixing some water damage on my two walls. There is a very small budget for home improvement and that's it. I spoke to an architect friend and she thinks she can help me in identifying the true problem so that she can suggest a proper contractor who will do a good job.

- I will most likely need to buy a couple of pairs of pants in the summer. Other than those, I will not need any major wardrobe improvement. Small amount set aside just in case.

- I will give up the studio when the rental contract is up which is in August. I have decided that I am not comfortable there. It is very noisy at night and most likely adds to my insomnia problem. I miss my home and I want to sleep in my own bed. I will have to get up earlier and most likely hit a good deal of traffic in the morning but, we shall see. After August, I can assume it is all temporary. Can I?

Today I had coffee with my friend who is a co-owner of the consultancy company I used to work for. It looks like there is always an open door for me over there. The pay is not good but for a part-time thing, I can get by. Anyway, that is Plan B.


Tuesday, November 28, 2017

And The Change Starts This Week

Today, the Representatives of ACME Capital will come to meet the team and answer their questions.

I talked to the guy who will be sitting in at the new board of directors yesterday to give him clues about what the people may be expecting and what they are uncomfortable about. Gave him hints as to what he needs to mention. The sooner he thinks he can depend on me as a catalyst in this change process, the better it will be to work together.

He and I will have a meeting next week to go over my evaluation. He said since my competency level was beyond the expectation there is not much to work on there. However, you may remember that my EQ turned out to be lower than the normal distribution. So, he offered that if I would be willing to participate in coaching sessions, they will pay for them and I said why not?

Let's see if I can "improve" my EQ. Lol! I see nothing wrong with being very analytical just like Bones or Mr. Spock but, I do not have a problem receiving some coaching either. EQ is a personality trait not a competence item so, I am not sure if I can improve especially after 50. The reason why I accepted coaching was to make sure I was not rejecting what is considered a positive offer on their side.

So, today the team will hear about things from the reps of the Buyer organization.

I am sure they are as nervous as we are. God help us all for a smooth transition.


Sunday, November 26, 2017

The Boss Said

This is the translation of my boss' announcement to the people who weren't at the office:

Dear Friends,

I would like to share with you that, yesterday I signed an agreement to transfer all my shares in the company to ACME Venture Capital.

Why? Because, the serious illness I had 3 years ago forced me to try to stay away from stressful situations. That is why Miss T'Pol has joined us, and has taken some of my responsibilities over and thus, I was able to cut my working hours as you may have noticed. In addition, switching off my phone and staying away from e-mail from time to time and taking long vacations were other precautions I have taken to keep away from stress and to avoid the recurrence of my illness.

I have taken this decision for two reasons. First, whatever I did, I could not learn to work without stress. I tried but I guess I cannot change that much. Second, I was anxious that my difficulties would slow down the progress of our company. I could not drive an organization which must move rapidly while working the way I was and that would be unfair to all of you.

As a result, I will be with you till the end of this year or till the end of January 2018. Our current operations and team will stay the same and even get larger.

On this strong foundation ACME will invest in "X", "Y" and "Z" to take our company to a new level.

I am sure there is no need to say that my door is open for all your questions.

I hope this will bring luck and prosperity to all of us.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Going Once, Going Twice... Gone! It's Official. We are SOLD!

It has been an interesting, exciting, somewhat stressful and busy process since September. Finally, our boss reached an agreement to sell the company to a venture capital company.

After the closing, he called me at night and told me that the agreement was finalized. I asked him if he was comfortable and satisfied with his decision and he said "yes" without hesitation. So, that is a great thing.

I will miss him dearly as I practically consider him my brother but, I have positive feelings nonetheless. I would like to see this company grow. There is so much potential but, there are also too many risks for just one private owner.

Today, he will make the announcement to the staff and next week the new team will come here to answer all the questions our staff might have. After the Q&A Session we shall go some place to "celebrate" this.

I am glad that the uncertainty is over. The change that is awaiting us is not worrying me. I know I can handle change one way or the other.

From now on, I will be the catalyst between the staff and the new management. I will be answering the staff's questions, helping them get over their anxieties and showing them that business will be as usual. I will also hold the hands of the newcomers and make their integration a smooth one. If I keep a positive attitude about this change and act accordingly, I think it will be so much easier for the others too. If the new CEO or any other management member says or does something which would normally make me mad, I should keep calm and make sure they understand that I am here to help and support them. Being the oldest person on board with 30 years of experience under my belt, I think I should become the trusted advisor of everyone.

As I am typing this, my boss sent me the memo he drafted to share with the rest of the staff who will not be here to listen to the announcement. He asked my feedback. It was beautifully written. Open and honest. I should translate it and share it here.

I wish and hope that this will mark the beginning of a new and exciting new journey.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

As we approach the final hurdles...

I think the sale of the company will be finalized this coming Friday.

I have learnt who the new CEO will be. He is someone I know for having done some business. For now, I think, I can have a good working relationship with him. He has never held the title before so, he will be very stressed I am sure. Unless he acts like a jerk because of the new position, we shall be fine. If he is smart, he should behave. If not, I will give him a piece of my mind being some years his senior.

As things need to be finalized, each day there is something that needs to be urgently taken care of. Today is another of those busy days.

Please wish us luck to get through this big change unscathed.


Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Still up in the air!

Some of you may remember that my boss is trying to sell the company for a while now. It looks like we are getting sold this time but you never know till the deal is signed and sealed and money has changed bank accounts.

As much as I try fighting this off, it still gets to me. My boss told me that they want to keep me on board but that there will be an assesment within the next three months. What does that mean? After 29 years in the workforce, I am not worried about my resume or who I am as a professional but, what happens after the assesment? Will they try demoting me? Will they offer a pay cut? Or will they offer something better?

I do not believe that any person at any organization is indispensable. Every shoe can be filled in time. I am trying to focus on what I am bringing to the table in case they ask me. I am also brushing up my resume so that once they invite me for the assesment, I will have it ready.

Every month I get to keep my job is a positive thing for my savings so, I will try to be open-minded and cooperative towards the new people. However, I do not know how they will be towards me.

This IS getting to me...